It takes dozens of volunteers to run a warming shelter, starting with the set-up crew. They wrestle with cots and set out blankets on each, working to provide shelter for dozens of unhoused residents in Wilmington.
Every winter, when temperatures drop below 32 degrees for two nights in a row, this massive volunteer operation activates, ready to serve those with nowhere else to go in freezing weather.
There’s an army of helpers, but it’s really just a small number of mainstays who keep the shelter running. Pastor Meg McBride from Hope Recovery Faith Community is one of those mainstays, and said demand has spiked in the last year.
"In January 2022, we did 10 nights, and the most we had on any one night was 65 people," she explained. "This past Christmas, we did five nights, and on the last night of operations, we had 93 folks in the shelter.”
McBride said she’s not sure what’s driving the increased numbers. Maybe COVID had an impact, or maybe it’s the housing crisis. Many who show up are living in their cars, and just need somewhere warmer to stay on the coldest nights. Regardless, "just by the sheer number of people that came for shelter, we definitely know that there are more people outside.”
Volunteers also spend time preparing for guests in other ways: providing a hot meal, a movie, and tons of snacks. There’s also donations: piles and piles of gloves and socks and soap, accumulated from gifts over the months and years. Organizing it all is quite the task, and McBride and her fellow organizers are excellent delegators.
I ended up prepping food — making a cheese sauce for baked ziti- and organizing donations before I served dozens of meals to guests.
McBride is worried about how the unhoused population she works with will be affected by an upcoming county commission vote — commissioners are likely to approve a measure that effectively criminalizes homelessness on county property.
That policy is aimed at the county library, where a fluctuating number of homeless people sleep. They’d be forbidden from sleeping there at night, and wouldn’t be able to have tents or sleeping materials on the property. If they're caught staying there, they could face trespassing charges; that’s a third-degree misdemeanor, which could mean a $200 fine and up to 20 days in jail. According to the county, this would only be as a “very last resort.”
McBride said she wishes commissioners would see up close the constituents this policy will impact — especially since it seems likely to pass, with every commissioner except Jonathan Barfield voting in favor at the first reading.
“When we speak about the homeless crisis or the homeless issue, what's been interesting is there hasn't been anyone in the room experiencing homelessness to have a comment about that, nor have they been invited into the conversation to my knowledge," McBride said. "Just going down on the street and speaking to them down at the library doesn't count. People can invite me to a meeting, you know, let's invite people to a meeting. Let's ask them what's going on.”
McBride isn’t sure the proposed policy to ban sleeping on county property will have the effect commissioners hope for.
"I don't think the homeless are going to go away from downtown," she said. "I've been working in homelessness since 2015, and they're still there."
There are negative knock-on effects for the policy. One organizer who works in the mental health field told me half of the unhoused staying near the library are on psychological medication, often provided by outreach teams. If they’re jailed for a night, which is one of the potential punishments under the new policy, then those teams won’t be able to provide medications. That further destabilizes the client, making it even harder for them to leave the street.
Commissioners have noted the numerous public complaints about people using the parking deck as a bathroom. And at the last county meeting, Sheriff Ed McMahon detailed the serious crime considerations at the library, including assaults on homeless people.
But McBride said there needs to be more resources to fill the gap.
“I know that the safety and cleanliness of the downtown area is always important. And I don't disagree at all. But to say you can't stay here, and we have no other solution for you. Like, that's not right," she said.
In the meantime, she’ll continue her volunteer efforts to house the homeless during freezing nights. They had 60 stay on the first freezing night in February.
“I don't think that the local governments can continue to say this isn't our problem. And we're going to make these laws and just put pressure on," she said. "How do we share resources with folks that are passionate about this work? And how do we empower people?”
McBride is working towards a day shelter downtown, and hopes to open that service in March. She’d rather see the county point its efforts in that direction. McBride plans to speak at the next commission meeting, to ask that the county commission reconsider its plans — or at least support additional resources to help the unhoused who get displaced.
